Pressurized storage container

ABSTRACT

A container for holding contents under air pressure wherein the container basically comprises abody and a cap, a threaded connection being established between the cap and the body, upon initial location of the cap upon the body an air-tight seal is established therebetween, as the cap is tightened upon the body air pressure is caused to increase within the container.

[ June 25, 1974 United States Patent 1 Coons 3,415,357 12/1968 VanNetter et al. 206/46 B 3 581,881 6/1971 206/1 R FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS [22] Filed:

Appl' 289087 Primary Examiner-William I. Price Assistant Eraminer-StevenE. Lipman Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert E. Geauque [57] ABSTRACT Acontainer for holding contents under air pressure wherein the containerbasically comprises abody and a cap, a threaded connection beingestablished between m w n 01/ 4 6 n/ooMUvR ,Bd ZB B 5 4 6 l 4 W6 mu 6NMm 4W 03 7 mn o o IBS/ N 0% 2 2 a 9 W 5 n m MR d w 0 5 n 6M Be .8 a 2%0 02 L6 U .mF N 5 55 l 56] References Cited the cap and the body,uponinitial location of the cap UNITED STATES PATENTS upon the body anair-tight seal is established therebetween, as the cap is tightened uponthe body air pres sure is caused to increase within the container.

2,712,394 7/1955 Koschatzky 206/48 B X 3,286.868 11/1966Mumford....H..i,...................i 215/40 I 3,305,119 2/1967 Reynolds215/40 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1 PRESSURIZED STORAGE CONTAINERBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Tennis balls are manufactured to closespecifications in order to have a uniform product for use anywhere inthe world. One of these specifications is that the ball must have abounce between 53 inches and 58 inches when dropped on a concretesurface from 100 inches in height. In order to meet this specificationand other specifications, tennis balls are made with a relatively thinwall of elastomeric material, covered on the outside with a felt fuzz,and filled with gas (such as air) under pressure. The halls are usuallypackaged in groups of three in a container having sufficient pressure tosubstantially equalize the pressure in the balls. This method ofpackaging maintains the physical characteristic of the balls until thecontainer is opened. At this time the fresh balls begin to age in aprimary way, that being the gradual escape of internal gas through thethin wall of the ball at all times and also the acceleration of thisescape when the ball is hit with a racket.

The importance of having tennis balls with uniform physicalcharacteristics must not be minimized. Those who are serious tennisplayers, either the relatively few competitors in tournaments or themany more competitors in recreational play, appreciate the feel ofstriking a good ball with a racket. It is well known that old defectiveballs will not go where they are hit and that in trying to compensatefor the deficiencies in an old ball, a player will often ruin a goodstroke that has been developed with much practice. Some of the bestplayers would rather not play at all rather than play with defectiveballs.

Once the tennis ball pressurized container which is in common use hasbeen opened, the balls which are not being used and are located in thatcontainer begin their deterioration. Also, once aball has been used, itwould be desirable to relocate the used ball in a pressurized atmospherein order to decrease the balls deterioration.

In the past there have been several types of containers which have beenproposed for such use. However, such previously known containers arecomplex in construction and therefore costly to manufacture and alsorequire to be connected with a source of pressurized gas once thecontainer is reclosed. As a result, such containers have not achievedany significant commercial success and as of the present day, norepressurizing type of container is known to be employed.

The pressurization which is required in the containers in which theballs are sold is approximately 13 pounds per square inch. This pressureis not so significantly high as to require a separate pressurizingapparatus to be connected with the container to repressurize thecontainer. It is one object of this invention to employ the use of apressurizing means incorporated with the container which can be readilyapplied manually.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The container of this invention provides for abody portion and a cap portion. Once the cap portion is initiallyinserted upon the body portion, an air-tight seal therebetween isestablished, closing off the interior of the body portion of thecontainer to the ambient. Means are provided between the cap and thebody portion such as a threading arrangement which permits the cap to betightened upon the body. As a result, the vol- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THEDRAWING FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the container of this inventionshowing the cap disassociated from the body;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the container of this invention showing the capcompletely closed about the body;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the container of this inventiontaken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a modified form of the container ofthis invention similar to that of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOWN EMBODIMENT Referring particularly tothe drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 the container 10 of this inventionwhich is b'asically composed of a cap 12 and a body 14. The body 14includes an interior chamber 16 which is adapted to receive a plurality(normally three in number) of tennis balls 18. However, it is to beunderstood that although this invention is described in preference tothe use of tennis balls, it is considered that the apparatus of thisinvention may be employed for other types of game balls or to pressurizeother types of contents.

The cap 12 also includes an interior chamber 20. Mounted within the cap12 adjacent the closed end of the chamber 20 is a seal 22. The seal 22would normally comprise a resilient non-metallic material such asrubber, plastic or the like. The purpose of the seal 22 is to insurethat an air-tight connection is established between the cap 12 and thebody 14 when the cap 12 is fully inserted upon the body 14.

Secured to the cap 12 within the chamber 20 is an internal thread 24.Fixedly mounted upon the body 14 is a thread 26. Also mounted a groovewithin the body 14 adjacent the opened end of the body 14 is an O-ringseal 28. The O-ring seal 28 is. deemed to be a conventional type of sealand will also be formed of a resilient non-metallic material such asrubber or plastic.

Theoperation of the container 10 of this invention is as follows: It ispresumed that the container has been received by a person desiring touse one or more of the balls 18 and the container has yet to be opened.Initially the container is pressurized to approximately thirteenpoundsper square inch. The person then grasps both the body 14 and thecap 12 and causes a turning movement to occur therebetween by theapplication of manual force. This causes the thread 24 to be moved alongthe thread 26 until the cap 12 can be disassociated from the body 14. Itis to be noted that the depressurization of the chamber 16 isaccomplished gradually and no ejecting of the cap 12 is caused. Once thecap 12 has been removed from the body 14, the ball 18 which is storedwithin the chamber -20 can be readily removed.

Let it be assumed that only a single ball 18 has been removed from thechamber 20. The operator then relocates the cap 12 upon the body portion14 so that thread 24 becomes coupled with the thread 26. In thisposition an air-tight seal is established between the O- ring 28 and thesmaller diameter section 30 of the cap 12. It is to be noted that thediameter of the thread 24 is equal to or greater than the diameter ofthe section 30 in order to permit passage of the O-ring 28 past thethread 24. With the air-tight connection being initially establishedbetween the cap 12 and the body 14, as the cap 12 is rotated about thebody 14, a recompression occurs within the chamber 16 caused by acompressing of the gas within the chamber 16. The longitudinal movementof the cap 12 upon the body 14 is preselected so that the compression ofthe gas within the chamber 16 is to the value of approximately 13 poundsper square inch with three balls located in the chamber 16. Therefore,the balls which are not in use in being retained within the chamber 16are not caused to deteriorate but are stored in a satisfactorypressurized environment.

It is to be understood that with one or two balls removed from chamber16, a pressurization of less than the initial 13 psi would result.However, a partial pressurization is better than no pressurization.

At the time the operator decides to relocate the ball that is being usedwithin the container 10, the container is opened, the ball inserted inthe container 10 and then closed. This causes a pressurization of thegas within chamber 16 and prevents the ball that was used fromdeteriorating as well as the unused balls.

Referring particularly to FIG. 4 of the drawings, like numerals havebeen employed to refer to like elements. The container 32 of FIG. 4retains the balls 18 in a manner similar to the previous embodiment.However, the cap 12' is substantially interiorly recessed to formcylindrical extension 34. The cylindrical extension 34 is closed at itsinnermost end 36. Mounted exteriorly about the extension 34 within agroove is an O-ring seal 38. The seal 38 causes an air-tight connectionto be established between the extension 34 and the body 14 by locationof such within the chamber 16. The cap 12' includes an interior thread24' in a manner which was described in the previous embodiment. Also,the body 14 includes an exterior thread 26. As the cap 12 is rotatedabout the body 14 with the threads 24 and 26 being coupled, acompressing of the gas within the chamber 16 is caused, resulting in apressurizing of the balls 18.

It is considered to be within the scope of this invention that othermodified forms of containers can be employed without departing from thescope of this invention. For example, a single thread 24 and 26 isemployed upon each container. However, a double thread could be readilyemployed, it only being that a single thread is desirable for purposesof reduced friction. Also, it is considered to be within the scope ofthis application to make other changes in structure without departingfrom the concept of the pressurized container having a gradual build-upof pressure therein and a gradual release of pressure when the cap isremoved. Another modification would be the employment of the O-ringadjacent the threads in a groove within the smaller section 30 of thecap 12 in lieu of being employed at the end of the body l4.

What is claimed is: l. A pressurized container comprising: a body havingan interior chamber to be pressurized;

a rigid cap for compressing air in said interior chamber, said cap beinglongitudinally and bodily movable relative to said body from an initialposition to a completely closed position;

first means located between said cap and said body to establish anair-tight connection therebetween, said first means causes establishmentof said airtight connection when said cap and body are in said initialposition and maintains said air tight connection during movement of saidcap in either direction between said completely closed position and saidinitial position, thereby resulting in gradual change in pressure insaid interior chamber as said I cap moves in either direction betweensaid positions; and

second means mounted on both said cap and said body, said second meanscapable of interlocking to effect movement from said initial position tosaid completely closed position and to result in securement of said capupon said body in said completely closed postion.

2. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said cap having a second interior chamber;

said body being insertable within said second interior chamber, saidfirst means being located between the wall of said second interiorchamber and said body.

3. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein:

both said body and cap being cylindrical in configuration;

said second means comprises a threaded arrangement including a firstthread mounted upon said cap and a second thread mounted upon said body.

4. The container as defined within claim 2 wherein:

6. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said first means comprises an O-ring seal which is formed of a resilientmaterial, said seal being located between said second means and saidinterior chamber for all positions of said cap between said initialposition and said completely closed position.

7. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said cap including an extension, said extension being adapted tomatingly cooperate within said interior chamber of said body, said firstmeans being located between said extension and said body.

1. A pressurized container comprising: a body having an interior chamberto be pressurized; a rigid cap for compressing air in said interiorchamber, said cap being longitudinally and bodily movable relative tosaid body from an initial position to a completely closed position;first means located between said cap and said body to establish anair-tight connection therebetween, said first means causes establishmentof said air-tight connection when said cap and body are in said initialposition and maintains said air tight connection during movement of saidcap in either direction between said completely closed position and saidinitial position, thereby resulting in gradual change in pressure insaid interior chamber as said cAp moves in either direction between saidpositions; and second means mounted on both said cap and said body, saidsecond means capable of interlocking to effect movement from saidinitial position to said completely closed position and to result insecurement of said cap upon said body in said completely closed postion.2. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein: said cap having a secondinterior chamber; said body being insertable within said second interiorchamber, said first means being located between the wall of said secondinterior chamber and said body.
 3. The container as defined in claim 1wherein: both said body and cap being cylindrical in configuration; saidsecond means comprises a threaded arrangement including a first threadmounted upon said cap and a second thread mounted upon said body.
 4. Thecontainer as defined within claim 2 wherein: said first thread is on theinterior surface of said cap and said second thread is on the exteriorsurface of said body, said threads becoming coupled at said initialposition and remaining coupled during movement of said cap to saidcompletely closed position.
 5. The container as defined in claim 4wherein: said first means comprises an O-ring seal which is formed of aresilient material, said seal being located between said second meansand said interior chamber for all positions of said cap between saidinitial position and said completely closed position.
 6. The containeras defined in claim 1 wherein: said first means comprises an O-ring sealwhich is formed of a resilient material, said seal being located betweensaid second means and said interior chamber for all positions of saidcap between said initial position and said completely closed position.7. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein: said cap including anextension, said extension being adapted to matingly cooperate withinsaid interior chamber of said body, said first means being locatedbetween said extension and said body.